The Plan

"That guy named Yue Kun had reached the Fourth Stage of Boiling Blood. In my current state, I was still no match for him."

"If I hadn't secretly followed them, I would've been as good as dead tomorrow night."

"But now that I know their plan in advance, the tables in this plot against me are about to turn..."

After leaving Cloud Dragon County, Shen Mu hurried toward Emerald Cloud Valley without stopping.

He hadn't expected that by spending his days cultivating in Emerald Cloud Valley, he would end up finding the mastermind who had lured the Dark Gold Red Tiger over the cliff that day.

The culprit had actually been Emerald Cloud Valley's Guardian. The truth had caught even him completely off guard.

"Bang, bang, bang!"

Shen Mu arrived at Emerald Cloud Valley and knocked on Hong Jingcheng's door.

There was no way he could handle Yue Kun on his own.

Since that was the case, he could use this opportunity to earn Hong Jingcheng's favor and protect himself from tomorrow's danger. It was killing two birds with one stone.

Whether Hong Jingcheng would pay him for providing the lead wasn't something Shen Mu was concerned about.

When someone's life was under threat, no amount of money was anything but an external possession.

At that moment, Hong Jingcheng was inside, getting intimate with Miss Han Yan. The sudden knock on the door had undoubtedly ruined his mood.

He stopped what he was doing and asked impatiently, "Who is it?"

Hearing the panting inside suddenly stop, Shen Mu wore an odd expression. Hong Jingcheng really had quite the appetite...

Shen Mu called out, "Brother Hong, it's me, Shen Mu."

"Shen Mu?"

Hong Jingcheng furrowed his brows, still with no intention of getting out of bed. He called back, "What do you want? If it's nothing important, come see me tomorrow at noon..."

Shen Mu hurriedly said, "Brother Hong, I just found out who was behind the Dark Gold Red Tiger's fall from the cliff."

"Hm?!"

Hong Jingcheng's eyes widened, his face full of disbelief.

Nearly a hundred people in Emerald Cloud Valley hadn't found a single clue, and Shen Mu had?

Then his eyes lit up.

Shen Mu really knew how to play his cards. He'd come straight to Hong Jingcheng as soon as he had news. This meant Hong Jingcheng's chance to make a fortune had arrived!

He hurriedly jumped out of bed, threw on a robe, and opened the door.

"Have you told anyone else about this?"

Hong Jingcheng looked at Shen Mu outside the door and asked in a low voice.

"No."

Shen Mu shook his head. "As soon as I found the clue, I came straight to you, Brother Hong. No one else knows anything about it."

"Good. Very good!"

Hong Jingcheng clapped his hands and laughed, then hurriedly asked, "Tell me, who planned that incident with the Dark Gold Red Tiger falling off the cliff and causing a commotion?"

Shen Mu slowly replied, "Guo Jinchuan."

"Guo Jinchuan?"

The smile on Hong Jingcheng's face abruptly froze. He stared in astonishment and said, "Tell me exactly what happened. How did you find out?"

"It happened like this..."

Shen Mu described everything in detail: how Tu Chuan and another member of the Money Gang had sneaked into Emerald Cloud Valley to collect a debt from Guo Jinchuan; how he later accompanied Guo Jinchuan to Cloud Dragon County to get bandaged; and how he secretly followed him and caught him meeting Yue Kun, where they discussed sneaking into the valley tomorrow to ambush Shen Mu.

"Good, good, good! What a traitor, biting the hand that feeds him."

After hearing Shen Mu's account, Hong Jingcheng's face had turned ashen. He ground his teeth as he spoke.

He had never imagined that the person who came up with the plan and conspired with outsiders to orchestrate the whole incident was one of his own Guardians.

"Brother Shen, you've done a great service this time."

Hong Jingcheng patted Shen Mu on the shoulder and smiled approvingly. "I'll go tell Market Masters Lin and Kong about these clues right away..."

Hearing this, Shen Mu immediately shook his head. "Brother Hong, you absolutely mustn't."

"Oh?"

Hong Jingcheng raised his brows, confused. "Why not?"

Meeting Hong Jingcheng's puzzled gaze, Shen Mu said, "Brother Hong, think carefully. Guo Jinchuan is Emerald Cloud Valley's Guardian. Whose command does he serve under?"

"If this gets out, what will your superiors think of you? Forget about getting credit. They might even hold it against you..."

After hearing Shen Mu's analysis, Hong Jingcheng's heart gave a jolt. The more he thought it over, the more sense it made.

"Brother Shen, you're right. I nearly ruined everything."

Hong Jingcheng shuddered at the thought, then asked, "What do you think we should do about it?"

Shen Mu said meaningfully, "Aren't Guo Jinchuan and Yue Kun planning to harm me tomorrow? We can simply turn their plan against them..."

"Turn their plan against them?"

Hong Jingcheng looked puzzled.

"Exactly."

Shen Mu nodded, then explained his plan. "Brother Hong, you can hide nearby. As soon as Guo Jinchuan and Yue Kun show up, your cultivation will make it easy for you to subdue them."

"Then you can take the two of them to the Market Masters. They can follow the clues and interrogate them about the others who took part that night."

"According to what Incense Master Ren said that day, capturing one person alive earns you five hundred taels of silver."

"Brother Hong, if you capture Guo Jinchuan and Yue Kun alive, you'll earn a thousand taels of silver!"

"The two Market Masters can follow the clues and capture the other accomplices, earning themselves a sum as well."

"That way, the two Market Masters will owe you a favor. Even if your superiors later try to make an issue of Guo Jinchuan being your subordinate, the two Market Masters will have to speak up for you..."

Hearing Shen Mu's plan, Hong Jingcheng's eyes lit up.

"Brilliant!"

Hong Jingcheng looked delighted, then seemed to remember something and furrowed his brows. "But why don't we just use Guo Jinchuan and Yue Kun to follow the clues and catch the others? Wouldn't that earn us even more silver?"

Shen Mu couldn't help shaking his head. The man really was insatiably greedy.

Some money wasn't yours to take. Take it, and it'd burn your hands...

Shen Mu patiently explained, "Brother Hong, think carefully. If we follow the clues and capture a whole string of people, then use them to ask Incense Master Ren for a reward, what would the two Market Masters think of you?"

"They wouldn't get a single tael. Wouldn't they hold a grudge against you? How could you possibly stay in Emerald Cloud Valley after that?"

"Besides, take Yue Kun, for example. He couldn't have reached the Fourth Stage of Boiling Blood for no reason, could he?"

"That suggests Yue Kun belongs to some faction in the county. I suspect he's a disciple of one of the Four Great Martial Halls."

"You want to follow the clues and expose the people behind him."

"Who do you think those people belong to?"

"If you capture their people and word gets out, that faction will lose face. Won't they take their anger out on you?"

"Maybe you could make a lot of silver that way, Brother Hong, but can you guarantee you'll still be around to spend it?"

After hearing Shen Mu's thorough analysis, Hong Jingcheng broke out in a cold sweat.

"Brother Shen, you're right."

Hong Jingcheng nodded emphatically. Capturing Guo Jinchuan and Yue Kun alive would already earn him a thousand taels of silver.

The two Market Masters should get a cut, too. That would put them all in the same boat and tighten their ties.

If a good opportunity came along later, the Market Masters would naturally look out for him...

Hong Jingcheng slung an arm around Shen Mu's shoulder like an old friend and said warmly, "Don't worry, Brother Shen. Once this is done, I definitely won't shortchange you when it comes to your share."

"Heh, it's only what I should do, Brother Hong."

Shen Mu smiled as he spoke.

He didn't take Hong Jingcheng's promise seriously at all.

The way Hong Jingcheng had handled the capture of the Origin Cicadas made it clear that he was insatiably greedy.

He'd taken five-tenths of all the Origin Cicadas for himself, only distributing the other five-tenths to everyone else...

Shen Mu had told Hong Jingcheng about this incident for no reason other than to protect himself.

As for how much Hong Jingcheng would reward him, he didn't expect much at all.

The two continued discussing the details of the plan. After agreeing to meet outside Shen Mu's Bamboo Shed early the next morning, Shen Mu took his leave.